An Imperfect Storm

by Bookish Delight

1: Approach

It was a dark and stormy noon.

The thunder was everywhere. The lightning was everywhere. The rain fell in small but harsh droplets, signifying that while things weren't at their worst, they could certainly get there.

Still, the elements were everywhere and ever-present, to a degree that Lightning Dust had never seen in her life, and never wanted to see again once this was all over.

If it's ever over, Lightning thought to herself through deafening rumbles and crashes. Looking around herself, she still wasn't sure it would be. Sometimes, the storm seemed more life form than natural phenomenon. As if it knew what it liked, and what it hated—and ponies were definitely on the latter list.

Oh, and it also felt as if it could easily last forever, if it wanted to. That last bit was important, given who caused the weather in the first place.

Stupid Storm King and his stupid grudges. How did we even get a Storm King, anyway? And why does he have to be such a total butt? And... Lightning gritted her teeth. Ugh! Why isn't there anything I can do about it?

She knew that wasn't entirely true: she'd been herding any pegasi less flight-skilled than herself to safety for hours now, getting them into houses safe from the storm. But "hours" in this weather was still a massive stamina cost, even for her. It was all she could do to navigate the chaos of the skies without getting herself hurt at any given moment—or worse, embarrassed.

Lightning Dust loved a good storm. But even the fiercest storms ended after some time, giving those under them time to rest. This was just tiring. Frustrating. Confusing. Discouraging.

Which, she realized, was likely exactly what the Storm King was going for.

She heard another thunderclap, sensed the electricity in the sky, and pulled a side roll just in time to dodge another bolt of lightning. It was that sense of hers that earned her her cutie mark, and at no other time was she happier that this was so than right now. After quickly making sure her saddlebag of supplies was safe, she steeled herself, straining not to lose her pace.

Because other ponies might still need her help. It was the least she could do, since she was able. It was what a Wonderbolt would do, she told herself.

Even though she wasn't one.

And yet, for the first time in years, thanks to this storm, she felt as if her life held some of those old things she used to believe in, like "meaning" and "purpose". Lightning closed her eyes and sighed. All I've ever wanted, really.

A boisterous, triumphant whoop cut through the storm, and through Lightning's thoughts. She perked up, wondering just what was going on. The whoop was followed by laughter. Lightning changed course, following the sounds to find a set of particularly angry-looking black storm clouds, all tossing lightning in bursts... and then to see a single pegasus pony amidst them, dodging every single one.

A mare's voice rang out, even above the thunder, in a distinct accent she'd rarely heard save for a few scattered wanderings to Equestria's southern regions.

"Aww, yeah! That all you got? Come on, you bugger of a storm, give me more! You ain't got nothin' I ain't seen in the wilds back home!"

Lightning could barely believe it. This mare was actually egging the storm on? Not that the weather could hear her, but still, this she had to see. Lightning flew closer, with the goal of being able to make out just who this pony was through the storm's darkness.

Finally, she got close enough to realize that the reason that this mystery mare was so hard to see was that her coat was a deep navy blue, which camouflaged with the storm almost perfectly. If not for her wavy white mane which waved in the breeze, Lightning would have missed her presence entirely, even with how loud she was being. "Hey!" Lightning called out.

That got the mare's attention quickly. She picked up her head, darting it around. "Oi! Who's there?"

Lightning flew closer to the new pegasus. "Uh... call me a concerned citizen?"

A few moments of visible hesitation passed before the mare replied. "Heh. Then color me concerned too! This storm is dangerous and you shouldn't be up here."

Lightning almost laughed. "Back at you! I'll be fine, don't worry. Still, this may be a stupid question, given what you're doing out here, but, uh... do you need any help?"

The mare hesitated again, before giving a rueful chuckle. "I mean, maybe in general, sure. But with this storm? Heh. It's about ten years too early to take ol' Rolling Thunder down—" A huge clap of thunder boomed across the sky, and she tensed up. "Watch out!"

The mare zoomed to Lightning Dust just as the latter felt a huge surge which sent her coat standing on end. Had she still been flying, it would have been fine, but dodging lightning from zero-speed hovering? That was a skill Lightning was admittedly still working on.

Fortunately, she felt several pounds of mare slam into her at that moment, allowing them to both dodge a massive, blinding arc of electricity... and also sending them hurtling into a nearby grey cloud that was thankfully exhausted of rainwater.

A soft, yet stunning ploomf marked their crash landing.

---

"Oi! Oi, you okay, mate? I swear, you die 'cause of me, I'll haunt you myself! Wait, no, that's not how it goes..."

Lightning opened her eyes to see the mystery mare looming in front of her with a concerned face. She sat up with a groan, clutching her head. The thunder still rumbled, though this time with an uncharacteristically relaxing cadence. There'd be another surge soon, no doubt, but at least for now, she could take a breather. Slowly, her bearings returned. "Thanks," Lightning said, running her hoof through her mane.

The navy blue mare still looked at Lightning worriedly, even when stepping back. There was a scar on her eye. Had she gotten it during this storm? "It's okay, I'm fine," Lightning added with a semi-forced smile. "Heck, I was wondering just how long my luck would hold out tonight."

The other mare shifted her eyes towards the sky, then back to Lightning. "Yeah, well. You shouldn't press it."

"Back at you again," Lightning said, remembering the mare's words just before they'd had their first conversation. "Your name's... Rolling Thunder, huh?"

"Saw that bit, eh?" Rolling said, just barely failing to hide a blush. "Yep. Exactly what you see on the tin. I roll with it. It talks to me, I talk to it, we have conversations, it lets me know what's up." Her eyes sparkled with a faraway excitement. "Meaning I get to enjoy the dangerous parts. What about you?"

"Lightning Dust," Lightning said. "I can feel it coming, so it never touches me. I'm also about as fast."

Rolling's eyes went wide as plates. "No kiddin'?" she said, bursting into laughter a moment later. "Crikey, what are the odds of the only two mares in all of Equestria suited for all this nonsense meetin' up—actually, no, that makes right proper sense, don't it?" She laughed again.

Lightning laughed as well. Finally, a reason to feel the tiniest bit happy in this storm. "Yeah, I guess so. Nice to meet you, though. Wish it were under better circumstances, but..."

"Likewise on both counts," Rolling said. "Heh. If this Storm King business ever ends, I oughtta go back to the Wonderbolts with 'surviving this' on my resume. Outflyin' the worst weather Equestria's seen in ages with nary a scratch, and saving your cute flank in the midst..." She glanced at Lightning with a small smile. "Let's see their precious Dizz-o-Tron match that, eh?"

Lightning held back her own blush. "Ha! Know what you mean. I don't fear Spitfire's little toy, though. Already got the fastest speed and time on that. Way past regulation settings."

Rolling raised her eyebrow with a "hmm" of approval. "Impressive. Endurance record over here. Max regulation speed... but never left the machine." Rolling leaned in closer. "For twelve hours."

Lightning gaped. "Whoa. Wait. Back up. You said 'back to the Wonderbolts' and 'let me on.' And you know about Spitfire's crazy tests! But I don't see you wearing their colors. Did you..." Lightning trailed off, waiting for Rolling to say what Lightning fully expected her to.

When Rolling stayed silent, it threw Lightning off more than any words could have. "Right. Sorry, if it's too personal a question." Lightning checked to make sure her saddlebag was safe, mainly to keep from fidgeting. It was. "You've got supplies, right?"

She looked to see if Rolling had a bag. She didn't. Which also struck Lightning as odd. A lot of ponies had gotten caught unaware from the Storm King's attacks. But Rolling was the only one of those ponies who had been flying towards those attacks when they'd met.

"Right. Well, then." Rolling hopped back to her hooves, and outstretched one to Lightning. Lightning took it, and got up, meeting the other mare's eyes. Something about them made Lightning more and more curious the more she looked into them. Rolling was still smiling—she had been for a while now.

But her eyes were not.

Rolling was more than happy to meet Lightning's gaze for as long as possible... until she looked back out to the skies. "Feel like getting back in there? If only to find a better place to rest?"

Lightning nodded.

The two pegasi spread their wings and pushed off.

Comments

[CapNTilfy]

Bookish? Writing non-human but pony horse words? What timeline is this?!

...I kid, I kid. I like where this is going!

[The Voice in the Water]

Interesting. Donner und blitz pegasi meeting up in a storm. Lookin' forward to where this leads.

[Nali]

Ah, the fabled Lightning Dust story finally surfaces. :o

Eminently curious to see where all this is going.

[redandready45]

This is pretty good.

I can picture Lightning Dust as the person you dislike until your forced to band together to defeat an opponent.

It would've awesome seeing her fight back against the Storm King.